
Selected major losses since 2000

9/11 2001
Ina Ebert, Leading Expert, Global Clients/North America

Toulouse 2001
Robert Schmid, Senior Underwriter, Special & Financial Risks

Madrid 2005
Andrés Ruiz Feger, Senior Lawyer Claims, Madrid

Katrina 2005
In 2005, New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating tropical cyclones ever and a humanitarian catastrophe that claimed the lives of more than a thousand of the city’s inhabitants. Katrina made landfall near Miami on 25 August and in the days that followed moved towards the eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Owing to the exceptionally warm ocean temperatures, Katrina quickly intensified to a category 5 hurricane with peak gusts of up to 340 km/h. Continuing at this strength, it then crossed over the oil production areas off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi. Katrina was one of the most expensive cases ever for the insurance industry.
Klaus Wenselowski, Head of Property Claims Management

Buncefield 2005
On 11 December 2005, what was possibly the largest peacetime explosion ever to occur in Europe (2.4 on the Richter scale) took place at the Buncefield oil depot in England. Although the fire was contained mainly on site and there was no loss of life, the explosion caused tremendous damage. Overall losses came to approximately £1bn. On the property insurance side, it was mainly repair costs and consequential business interruption losses that had to be indemnified. Casualtywise, the obvious subrogation targets were the joint venture operators of the depot. On 20 March 2009, the High Court finally confirmed liability for claims of around £700m. In total 3,545 claims had to be settled.
Rainer Hanselmann, Head of Casualty Claims Management (GC/NA & APAC)

Deepwater Horizon 2010
On 20 April 2010, an explosion on the “Deepwater Horizon” offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico caused 11 fatalities, enormous property damage and a major environmental disaster. The oil leak from the rig lasted 87 days, spilling over 780 million litres of oil into the sea. According to official figures, the spill contaminated over 1,000 kilometres of the Gulf coastline. This catastrophe became one of the most expensive losses ever in the offshore energy sector.
Klaus Wenselowski, Head of Property Claims Management

Fukushima 2011
On 11 March 2011, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan shook the northeast of the country. The Mw 9.0 earthquake was the world’s fourth-strongest in the last 100 years and triggered a 10-metre high tsunami, which led to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. In contrast to the almost complete destruction in tsunami-affected areas, losses in other areas hit by the earthquake were moderate. Although Tokyo’s skyscrapers swayed strongly for several minutes, there was no significant damage there. The earthquake claimed more than 15,800 lives, almost 6,000 were injured and over 3,400 remain unaccounted for. While the economic loss totalled more than US$ 200bn, insured losses were in the region of US$ 35bn to US$ 40bn.
Andreas Langer, Manager Claims

Costa Concordia 2012
When the Costa Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio on 13 January 2012, it was set to become the biggest ever loss in the maritime insurance market. The reason for the accident was gross negligence on the part of the captain, who was sailing too close to the island, at too great a speed, and without proper maps. With an overall loss of around US$ 2bn, the claim is unparalleled in the history of maritime insurance. Salvage and dismantling costs alone, which were met under the liability cover, amount to US$ 1.2bn. The reinsurance market will eventually shoulder more than 90% of the overall loss.
Olaf Köberl, Senior Manager Claims

Fort McMurray 2016
Joachim Pawellek, Manager Claims